Employee turnover decreasing on California dairies

Excessive employee turnover on dairies can be expensive and upset routines, which in turn can affect animal health and dairy productivity. Employee turnover also may be a symptom of other labor management challenges at a dairy, say Gregorio Billikopf, labor management farm advisor for the University of California, and Gustavo González, a former agricultural student at the Modesto Junior College.

However, in recent years, employees have reported improved relations with management and supervisors, Billikopf and González say in the March 2013 California Dairy Newsletter.

“Perhaps this is due to better management practices as well as employment laws that protect workers from more arbitrary treatment,” they say. “There is, however, a substantially greater turnover among Hispanic than non-Hispanic employees.”